Nothing Bad Happens On Christmas Eve
by y blaidd drwg
Summary: A short coda to 1x10 Last Christmas from Randall's POV. Major spoilers for the episode.


Randall watched helplessly as the paramedics rushed through his front door, meticulously retrieving the equipment they needed. His family had sprung into action, but none of them really knew what to do. No one was a doctor, no one knew CPR, no one knew anything.

No one knew how to deal with this.

And Kate. He never wanted to see that look on anyone's face, let alone his sister's. That look of terror knowing that someone you love is in pain and knowing that absolutely nothing that you can do could stop it. He'd seen that look before, kind of, but this was not the same.

This was so much worse. This wasn't like the time in second grade when Kevin sprained an ankle falling out of the neighbor's treehouse, and Randall had been the one holding Kate's hand while their father drove him to the hospital.

This was real.

Toby could die.

The paramedics left with Toby on a stretcher, and Kevin gave Kate's hand one last squeeze before releasing it to let her rush off to ride along in the ambulance.

"We should follow along." Randall looked towards Kevin who was already listlessly heading for the door. "We need to be there for her."

"We'll all go," Beth said, reaching for the car keys by the door. "We'll have to take two cars, but we can all fit."

"No, Beth, you should stay here with the girls," Randall said, gesturing to his two daughters still sitting quietly on the staircase. "They don't need to spend Christmas Eve at the hospital. Kevin and I will go."

"I'm coming with you." Rebecca grabbed her coat, and Randall started to say something. "And I don't care how you feel about me in this particular moment, Randall. Kate's my daughter, and I'm going to be there for her. She needs me right now."

Randall walked over to his daughters, crouching down to their eye level.

"You girls be good for your mom, okay?" Randall kissed them each on the forehead. "I love you both."

The drive was silent. With Randall still uncertain about speaking to his mother, unsure of his feelings, he knew it wasn't the time. Kate was the important thing right now, and a silent car ride was all the cordiality he could muster. But when they walked through the automatic doors of the emergency room and saw Kate, head in her hands, all three of them rushed to her side. The Pearsons may not always see eye-to-eye. They may not always get along. They'll fight. They'll cry.

But when it comes down to it, they know how to be a family.

"Kate!" Kevin called out. He reached her first, wrapping her in a hug almost before she'd even had a chance to look up. "Are you okay?"

Kate just nodded, her gaze wandering away from her brothers. Randall knew that look, and he knew that she wasn't ready to feel anything yet. She was afraid Kevin would bring it out of her, afraid that one look into his eyes would mean that he'd see how she felt, and then she would have to finally feel it, too. Instead, she leaned into his hug, glad for the small comfort.

"How is he?" Rebecca sat on her other side, reaching out for her hand.

"They don't know yet." Kate squeezed her mother's hand back. "I'm not even sure if they'll tell me. I'm not family, right? Can't they not tell you if you're not family? I don't even know who I should call."

"I think his cell phone was charging in the living room. I'll call Beth and see if she can get any information off of it." Randall looked down at Kate, brother on one side and mother on the other, and he wasn't sure where he fit. He reached down for a small hug but stood back up just a little too quickly. Clearing his throat, he pointed at a sign over Kate's head. "No cell phones here. I'll go to the lobby and call. Is there, uh, anything I can get you while I'm gone?"

"I think I'm okay," Kate said at exactly the same time as Kevin said, "Why don't you bring her some water?"

"Yeah, water sounds good." Kate smiled up at Randall, and he tried to smile back, though he wasn't really sure if he was successful.

"Water it is."

Randall left the waiting room and walked towards the lobby. He knew that pretty much everyone, nurses included, ignored those signs, but he just didn't know what to do. Here he was, unable to think about anything but what his mother had done to him. Even in the car ride, his thoughts remained fixated on it with her at his side, while his sister was out there worried that the man she loved was going to die.

Why couldn't he think about her? Why couldn't he just comfort her?

And so a phone call to Beth and fetching a cone-shaped cup of water it was. At least he could try to be useful if he couldn't be a comfort. He started walking back towards the waiting room that his family was in when he passed the gift shop. Desperate to stall just a little longer, he walked inside. Rows of flowers and cards and stuffed animals greeted him, but a small case in the back that held trinkets caught his eye.

Snow globes.

Smiling, he pulled one down from the top shelf, turning it upside down from hand to hand. The snow fell gently down on the scenery below it as he set it back upright. Without another thought, he walked towards the cash register and placed it on the counter alongside a twenty dollar bill, remembering a time when it had been a very big deal for him to spend his money. Not like the man he'd become, a man who bought a boat on a whim.

"That'll be $45.82," the cashier said.

"I guess these things are a little more expensive than when I was a kid." Randall pulled a few more bills from his wallet, and the cashier began count his change.

"Isn't everything?" The woman held out the coins, and Randall slid them into his pocket. "Would you like this wrapped up?"

"I guess so. It's Christmas, isn't it?"

Randall pointed to one of the papers she had behind the counter and watched as she tore off just the right amount and taped the corners perfectly before she held it out to him.

"Thank you." He took the gift from her. "I hope you have a wonderful Christmas."

"You, too."

"I sure hope so."

He walked back towards the waiting room, pushing open the double doors to see that the seat next to Kate had opened in his absence. Kevin had moved past physical comfort and straight to pacing. Randall sat down next to her, offering the water first. She took a sip.

"I'm glad you're here."

"I got you something." Randall offered her the present he'd just purchased. Kate held it in her hand, feeling the weight of the package before carefully tearing the paper open.

"A snow globe?" she said, a little confused, though Randall saw both his mother and brother smile out of the corner of his eye.

"A reminder that nothing bad happens on Christmas Eve."


End file.
